Governor tells US not to bury nuke waste in Nevada

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Nevada's governor is telling the federal government the state doesn't want highly radioactive waste of the type that could be used to build a "dirty bomb" buried in shallow pits at the former national nuclear proving ground north of Las Vegas.

A federal Energy Department spokeswoman said Friday the agency is looking at Gov. Brian Sandoval's letter opposing plans to ship about 400 canisters of waste from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee to the Nevada National Security Site.

The governor accuses the Energy Department of trying to exploit a regulatory loophole to classify the waste as a low-level danger so it can be buried about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

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